Square-stemmed Monkeyflower

Mimulus ringens

Pollinator Value

🐛 Larval Host: Elaphria chalcedonia, Megalographa biloba, Junonia coenia, Euphydryas phaeton, Melanchra picta
S13+S15 5 verified Eastern NA
❄️ Winter Food Source: Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) consumes seeds of Mimulus species, constituting a minor fraction of diet. Capsules persist into autumn and may provide limited seed forage through early winter before being depleted.
S57 Wild Turkey diet record, genus-level

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ✅ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally secure (G5, IUCN Least Concern). Nationally secure in both Canada (N5) and the United States (N5). S5 in Ontario, SNR in Quebec. Not listed under SARA or COSEWIC. Rare in the Ottawa-Hull region per Gillett & White 1978, though common across Quebec as a whole.
S22 G5, N5, IUCN LC; S26 not SARA listed; S63 Rare in Ottawa-Hull
Rarity Ranks: QC SNR – Not Ranked, ON S5 – Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: Obligate wetland perennial of marshes, streambanks, swales, and floodplain margins. Thrives in saturated or inundated soils in full to partial sun. Associates with Asclepias incarnata, Eupatorium perfoliatum, and sedges in open wet meadows. Competition from invasive Lythrum salicaria suppresses reproduction by diverting bumblebee pollinators. Common in the Ottawa River watershed and Pontiac County wetlands.
S7 marshes, swamps, shores, disturbed wetlands; S61 reproduction suppressed by Lythrum salicaria; S10 floodplain forests, wet meadows; S54 Gatineau/Pontiac specimens

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Insectary Plant, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Insectary Plant: S64 NPPBI 'beneficial insects' flag] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [HIGH]: S64 Xerces listed (source-classified)]
Notes: OWSL lists Asclepias incarnata as a complementary planting. Both are obligate wetland species that share similar moisture requirements and bloom overlapping seasons, supporting diverse pollinator communities in rain gardens and shoreline restorations. Michigan Flora habitat records confirm co-occurrence with Asclepias incarnata in drawn-down wetland flats.
S3 complementary plants; S7 co-occurrence with Asclepias incarnata in habitat records

Category: Anticonvulsive, Antidote
S28 Iroquois Drug: Anticonvulsive and Antidote
Notes: Iroquois traditional medicine: a compound decoction of roots was taken by women for epilepsy (anticonvulsive), and a compound decoction of the whole plant was used as a wash to counteract poison (antidote). Documented by Herrick 1977 in Iroquois Medical Botany.
S28 Moerman NAEB, Herrick 1977

❌ Not Edible

Foraging Notes: No documented edible uses. Moerman lists only medicinal (Drug) uses for this species among the Iroquois; no food category entries were recorded.
S28 Drug=2 only, no Food; S29 no edible data